February 2018 Looks Like a Good Time to Buy Real Estate in the GTA

The stress test for home buyers with downpayments of over 20%, which was introduced starting January 1, 2018, seems to have helped further calm the GTA real estate market early in the year.

According to the Toronto Real Estate Board, there were 5,155 residential transactions through TREB’s MLS® System in January 2018, 22% down compared to a record sales reported in January 2017. The number of new listings entered into TREB’s MLS® System was 17.4% higher at 8,585. The overall average selling price dropped by 4.1% to $736,783.

Average sales prices in January were down in the detached, semi-detached and townhouse categories, by 9.1%, 1.8% and 0.5% respectively. But in the Condo Apartment segment, the average sales price was up by 14.6%.

At the same time, in his comment for NP-UN, Steve Woloshyn, a real estate agent with the Right at Home brokerage, shared an observation that many new subdivision/condo projects in the GTA are currently lowering prices while some projects have been cancelled.

It is too early though to make conclusions about the downward trend in the condo segment, noted Woloshyn, as well as about the market as a whole. In 2015-2017, the number of listings and sales, and the average resale price were growing early in the year and peaked in May-June. He said: “Wait and see what happens in the spring and especially towards June – that’s when we will really get an idea what the market is going to be like this year.“

But what is already clear is that the GTA real estate market is becoming more buyer-friendly, noted Woloshyn: many properties are not receiving multiple offers and are staying longer on the market. “Before the market may pick up in March or April, February 2018 seems to be a good time to buy,“ he said.

For every purchase or sale, Steve Woloshyn donates $500 to EuroMaidan Canada in the buyer’s/seller’s name for medical aid for injured soldiers in Ukraine. Steve’s web-site is www.stevewoloshyn.com, his phone number is 416-823-5551.

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